A variety of loading dock and rail dock barriers have been devised to protect both vehicles and individuals from falling off a dock edge or through doorways. Such areas can be hazardous since dock edges usually have a drop of several feet to the floor below.
Dock barriers of the prior art typically have certain disadvantages. One such disadvantage is that barrier material is not strong enough to stop and withstand an impact from a forklift. Fabric-type barriers which are retractable save space but are oftentimes flimsy and unable to completely stop a forklift that is traveling several miles per hour and also carrying product. Many of the barrier devices of the prior art consist of retractable barriers that are placed in front of loading dock doors or other doorways. One such device is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 8,490,668 which discloses a retractable fabric-like barrier with a roll-up mechanism that is placed in front of a loading dock platform to prevent people or equipment, such as a fork lift, from accidentally driving off of a loading dock edge.
Permanent guard rails are also used in various industries to prevent fork lifts or other material handling equipment from impacting machinery and causing damage. A disadvantage to barriers of this type are that permanent guard rails can be costly to install and are also unable to be removed once they are installed. This can be inconvenient and can take up valuable warehouse or dock space.
Another disadvantage of barriers of the prior art are that oftentimes they take one or more individuals to install and maneuver a barrier into an open or closed position. This typically requires a forklift driver to leave the forklift to open or close the barrier and then get back into the forklift to load or unload the material being transported. It can be very cumbersome for a driver to get in and out of a forklift and manually open and close a barrier or install and remove a barrier. This is a very time consuming process which may even take more than one individual to execute.
Barriers of the prior art can also be cumbersome to install or attach to the dock surface. It would be desirable to have a barrier which is easily installed and connected to the dock surface.
There is a need for a barrier which is strong enough to withstand the impact from a forklift carrying a load and able to be easily installed or removed so a forklift driver doesn't have to leave the forklift and also easy to store so as to save valuable warehouse/dock space and user time.
This device overcomes certain problems and shortcomings in the prior art, including those mentioned above and others, and provides advantages for an removable dock barrier not previously provided.